Four teenagers, all with "extensive" juvenile records, have been arrested in Newark following a chase in which they attempted to elude police in a stolen vehicle driven on three wheels for about five files through three towns, Orange police said.

The juveniles, 14, 15 and two of them 16 and all of Newark, were arrested at 10:48 p.m. Wednesday near Bergen Street and Shephard Avenue by Newark police following the chase which began on Reynolds Terrace in Orange, according to Orange Police Director Charles Cobbertt.

The juveniles, whose names were not released, were slapped with a total of 16 charges, including possession of a stolen vehicle, eluding police, possession of burglary tools and having a fake pistol, Cobbertt said.

He said the toy gun and an assortment of burglary tools were recovered from the vehicle which had been reported stolen in Irvington on Tuesday.

"If one of these four juveniles had pulled that fake pistol and pointed it at the police officers, we could be looking at a different story today," Cobbertt said, alluding to a potential shooting.

Three of the youngsters were released in the custody of their parents, while the fourth was lodged in the Essex County Youth House in Newark.

Cobbertt said the incident began when a resident called police to report someone trying to steal a car in a lot of an apartment building on Reynolds Terrace.

When Detective Lt. Joseph Pagano and Officer Darryl Butler responded, they saw the vehicle with the four boys driving at a high rate of speed across the front lawn of the building, then onto South Center Street toward South Orange, the director said.

The officers began a pursuit and unsuccessfully attempted to pull the car over, Cobbertt said. The left front wheel fell off the stolen car while it was travelling at about 30 mph. The 15-year-old suspect nevertheless kept driving and turned onto South Orange Avenue in South Orange and headed toward Newark.

The Orange police officers called Newark police for backup and continued trailing the stolen car. The juveniles abandoned the vehicle at a roadblock at Bergen Street and Shephard Avenue, said Cobbertt.

They were arrested after a brief chase on foot and turned over to Orange police.

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“Reach Back with One Hand and Pull Someone Else Up With You.”

– Charles C. Cobbertt

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